USS Tantalus (NCC-1831)
“The covetous man pines in plenty, like Tantalus up to the chin in water, and yet thirsty” - Thomas Adams "Find a friend, two by two, we just want to play with you. Find a friend, come to stay, you will never get away." -Tantalus Nursery Rhyme The USS Tantalus (NCC-1831) was a Constitution class vessel which disappeared in 2270. The USS Tantalus was launched in 2268 under the command of Captain Robert "Jack" Lavender. Her five year mission was one of exploration. In her two years of service, she took part in numerous first contacts, scientific discoveries, colonization efforts, and military engagements. The Tantalus was named for the star system and Greek mythological figure of the same name. Tantalus stole ambrosia and the secrets of the gods and gave it to mortal man. He was subsequently punished with eternal damnation. In 2270, she was refitted with experimental phase technology on a classified mission for Starfleet Intelligence. She was subsequently lost near the Tau Ceti quadrant. In the years since she went missing, there have been reports of a ghost ship bearing her description. It wanders the stars as it did in 2270, on an unending mission. It is said that those who find the Tantalus do not live long enough to tell the tale. Starfleet has dismissed these stories as space legends. Constitution Class MK-XIB As a Constitution class vessel constructed in the late 2260s, the USS Tantalus was outfitted with modified facilities and internal layout. Compared to prior specifications, the Tantalus had aft phaser and photon torpedo capability. The bridge of the Tantalus featured two turbolifts as well as an Automatic Bridge Defense System. These modifications allowed for increased security during emergency situations. A digital clock based on Earth time was placed above the viewscreen. Traditional recreation facilities were supplanted by the experimental holographic recreation room. The rec room was able to replicate simple environments, animal and plant life. The rec room was intended to address space cafard: a mental affliction of extreme boredom, depression and stress brought on by long periods of confinement to space without shore leave. Without remedy, space cafard could develop into madness. The installation of rec room facilities allowed for dedication of room to other facilities. Among them was a lounge and recreation facility known as The Blue Room, located on deck 8. Missions 2268 * September 20: The USS Tantalus is launched. * October 4: The USS Tantalus made first contact with the planet Ambrosia. The Ambrosians were transplanted from Earth by beings known as the Preservers. Commander Fox suspected them to be Athenians, possibly saved before the city fell to Sparta. Despite a 20th century level of development, Ambrosia was rich in dilithium and had begun testing of a warp engine. Captain Lavender considered this an acceptable reason to open relations. Commander Fox objected on the grounds that their culture had not yet evolved to proper maturity for contact. He was overruled. The IKS Korath, under the command of Captain Skarl, was dispatched to convince the Ambrosians to join the Klingon Empire. The Council of Elders challenged both crews to prove which was superior, and therefore worthy of their dilithium. The Klingons were able to win tests of strength. However, they failed tests of moral and philosophical character. The Ambrosians decided to begin relations with the Federation. In retaliation, the Klingons bombarded Ambrosia from orbit. A chain reaction destroyed the planet and her people. A once vibrant culture lay dead. * October 11: While rescuing a damaged civilian ship, the USS Tantalus encountered a cult known as the Children of the Prophets, lead by the mad emissary Akorem. The cult engaged in ritual mutilation, carving incantations and strange symbols deep into their flesh as a living magick. Preying on the nature of the crew, they took control of the ship and began to sacrifice crew members in strange rituals. They chose security lieutenant Ward for the sickest machinations. The cult destroyed dozens of ships as an offering to their gods. Each time, they would amputate Ward as the officers looked on in horror, cauterizing the wound with a phaser to keep him alive in torturous agony until he was the stump of a torso and head, begging for death in blood curdled screams. His blood and viscera were mixed with shapes carved into the floor to unleash evil incantations. Akorem set course for Dagon III. There, he murdered the population from orbit, killing 20 billion people. Ward was decapitated, bringing an end to his suffering. Lieutenant Smith was chosen next to suffer the same evil process. Akorem planned to murder 13 more worlds, bringing about the opening of the Celestial Temple. They were stopped when Commander Fox activated the bridge defense system, which opened fire on the cult. As his people died around him, Akorem only laughed until he too was killed. With his dying breath, he warned that he would return. * October 18: While exploring a nebula, the Tantalus came across the Bonaventure class USS Republic, which had been lost decades prior. This turned out to be a ruse and the Tantalus was attacked by Elasi pirates. The Republic revealed itself to be fully active, refitted with disruptors and other contemporary technology, and under the command of Harcourt Fenton Mudd. Mudd had been using the ship to raid cargo vessels for the Elasi and posed as a Federation starship to defraud unsuspecting worlds. The Tantalus was able to destroy the Elasi raiders but the Republic escaped. In pursuit, the Tantalus encountered the races which Mudd had scammed, who had no prior contact with the Federation and believed the Tantalus to be an enemy as much as Mudd. Discovering the ship in an asteroid belt, the Tantalus managed disable the Republic long enough to beam Mudd aboard. Captain Lavender forced Mudd to make restitution to the planets he had defrauded, many of which wanted him for execution. Lavender left him with the bickering parties to let them sort it out. 2269 2270 The Truth Although the crew of the Tantalus appeared to be upstanding career officers, the truth was rather different. The senior members of the crew were haunted by personal demons, and the ship became a hotbed of intrigue and power play. Captain Lavender and his yeoman had formed a relationship by 2270. However, Yeoman Smith had also formed a relationship with Lieutenant Foster of the science division. The revelation of this drove Lavender into a fit of rage, and he arranged for Foster to be sent on a dangerous away mission to Abrams III. Foster was killed as a result of this action. Fate During her phase experiments, the Tantalus encountered the hellish dimension of the Redjac entities. The entities were lured by her experiment, as well as the personal intrigue of the crew. Through their interference, the crew grew increasingly mad, and random disappearances occurred throughout the ship. As the situation deteriorated, she was captured by the entities. The essence of the crew was trapped forever between normal space and their hell dimension, to be tortured and forced to relive their own personal damnation. The Tantalus would continue to haunt the stars, traveling throughout the galaxy seeking new souls to capture. Crew *'Captain Robert J. Lavender ' Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on January 9, 2233. Lavender was a charismatic and competent officer, who made a number of friends and political contacts throughout his career. His father, grandfather and great grandfather were all starship captains. His record was exemplary and his accomplishments were many. However, Lavender also doubted his value as an officer, fearing his rise to the captaincy was based on friends and appearance. In the pursuit of glory and recognition, Lavender was prone to recklessness. He was also a womanizer and cordafin user. Lavender harbored resentment toward perceived enemies, and used his position as captain to deal with them as he saw fit. He was able to bury transgressions through charm and political clout. * 'Commander Thomas Fox ' First Officer and Chief Science Officer. Born in Anchorage, Alaska on December 17, 2234. When Fox was 12, his father, sister and brother drowned off the coast of Alaska. Fox was the only survivor of the incident, and he carried a great deal of guilt. His mother remarried the following year to a verbally abusive alcoholic. He was soon abandoned, and spent his teenage years in a series of foster homes and living with an uncle. Fox was a young scientific prodigy, and entered Starfleet Academy at the age of 18. He was a loyal and dedicated Starfleet officer, and a confidant of Captain Lavender. He was extremely protective of the people under his command, but was also prone to social withdrawal. Fox was an exceedingly competent officer. His fulfillment was in his scientific work and duty to the ship. * 'Lt. Commander Hank DeSilva ' Chief Security Officer. Born on Mars on June 3, 2236. DeSilva became head of starship security following the death of his predecessor in 2268. He was the son of a Starfleet captain who expected him to follow in his footsteps. While still a minor, DeSilva accidentally killed a player on an opposing team during a rugby tournament. His record was sealed, and the incident was quietly covered up, allowing him to enter Starfleet Academy. He was nearly expelled a number of times as a result of fights and rowdiness. He required 5 years to graduate. Beneath a calm demeanor, DeSilva had a sense of humor. However, he was also prone to outbursts of anger, and intimidated those under his command as much as enemies. DeSilva was extremely competitive and unwilling to accept failure. Although his record of mission success was commendable, this resulted in the injury and deaths of many men under his command. While he personally lamented this, he saw them as unavoidable. DeSilva was xenophobic, and did not trust non-humans. * 'Doctor Zachary Ruttler ' Chief Medical Officer. Born in Fayetteville, North Carolina on September 8, 2226. Ruttler was a long time friend of Captain Lavender. As an older officer, Ruttler had gone through many tumultuous events in his life. He was argumentative and cynical, and distrusted technology. However, he cared deeply for the crew and his patients. While his wife was pregnant, he had an affair with his nurse. His wife died in childbirth, and he never forgave himself for her loss. Ruttler drank heavily after her death. He raised one daughter alone, and was absent for much of her life. In order to earn credits for the family, he sold starship medical supplies and preformed illegal operations on the black market. Their relationship soured, and in 2268 she died in a famine on an unnamed colony world. Ruttler spiraled into depression, and developed a cordrazine addiction. His work suffered as a result, leading to the death of at least one patient, which was quietly covered up by Captain Lavender. Ruttler was a descendant of Phillip Green. He felt guilt over the atrocities committed by his ancestor. * 'Commander Bartholomew Argyle ' Chief Engineer. Born in Glasgow, Scotland on September 22, 2230. Argyle was a friendly officer and an exceptional engineer. He was fiercely loyal to the ship, and took insults against it personally. However, he pushed himself beyond his limits, and often overpromised on his abilities. He blamed ensuing failures and accidents on other officers or bad luck. Argyle spent a great deal of personal time inebriated. He was generally friendly, though he drank to excess and was given to bouts of anger and jealousy. Argyle had been engaged to be married in 2269. However, he discovered his fiance was cheating on him with an assistant engineer. In a fit of drunken rage, he murdered the two lovers, and threw their bodies into a plasma stream to hide the evidence. Argyle planned to kill himself, but passed out before he was able. The incident was deemed an accident. * 'Ensign Colt Hardin ' Chief Navigator. Born on North Star on May 27, 2243. Hardin was born a cheat, a thief and a scoundrel, and remained an unreformed rogue. He entered Starfleet Academy during initiatives to diversify class composition. Hardin was an impeccable card player, and a lover of many women, leaving broken hearts and broken marriages in his wake. He was frequently cited for insubordination, and used rec room facilities for unregulated, often sexual purposes. Hardin always managed to charm his way out of situations. He was an outstanding con artist who viewed trouble as a challenge. * '''Lieutenant Walter "Wally" Chang '''Chief Helmsman. Born on Alpha Centauri on September 14, 2239. Chang was a true 23rd century man. He was metropolitan, cultured, adventurous and optimistic, and viewed his heritage as human. As an officer, Chang was highly ambitious, and believed he would make captain by the time he was forty. Chang was raised by an Asian father and an American mother. As a boy, he was infatuated with 21st century films of the Eastern Coalition conflicts, and would practice mimicking the Asian villains, to the dismay of his parents. These films left an impression on Chang, who came to resent and reject his ethnic heritage. He strove to be only human, to forge his own identity, and to prove his value to himself and others. Chang had a string of relationships with male and female partners, none of which lasted long. He was extremely superstitious and feared the supernatural.